It would have been a massive event if this had happened at the Divine Capital, but it was just another day at the Archaion Sect.
“Fast, but you’re still not my opponent.” Tianming waited for the disturbance to come to an end before going over.
In the cultivation room next door, peace returned.
Originally, Tianming thought that she would come out by herself. However, after a long wait, nothing happened. He pushed the door open and entered to see a shivering figure sprawled on the floor.
“What’s the matter?” Tianming went forward to get a closer look. Lin Xiaoxiao’s face was pale, and there was a trace of black blood at the corner of her lips. By then, a puddle of blood had already formed.
Although her aura was faint and her consciousness blurring, Lin Xiaoxiao turned away when Tianming appeared. “Go away.”
“You sure you just became an empyrean saint? Looks more like you took some poison,” Tianming said calmly. Back when Li Wudi had become an empyrean saint, he’d evolved as a lifeform. His longevity had increased by five hundred years and his saint ki had flourished. It was a far cry from Lin Xiaoxiao.
Lin Xiaoxiao grit her teeth and tried to crawl away. “Go away.”
Then, she fainted away.
“Is she pretending to be dead?”
Tianming kicked her with his foot, but there was no response. “Is she really dead?”
Tianming checked and found that she was still breathing.
“What’s going on?”
Tianming stood at the side, feeling like there was nothing he could do. “Whatever. Lying on the floor isn’t good, so I’ll move you. Don’t blame me if you die.”
Tianming picked up Lin Xiaoxiao, commenting, “How light.”
Looking around, he couldn’t see any furnishings, not even a place to lie down. Hence, he carried her back to his place. There were many rooms there, and some even had beds.
“So cold.” Lin Xiaoxiao seemed to be sleep talking. She curled up into a ball, still shaking.
“And that’s my problem because?” Tianming tossed her onto the bed, then walked away.
However, two steps later, Tianming felt sorry for her when he saw her still curled up with purplish lips. Ending up here like this after losing her whole family was rather saddening.
In the end, Tianming threw a blanket over her. However, he felt like it wasn’t enough. Going outside, he picked up the sunbathing Meow Meow.
“Tianming, what are you doing! I’m getting my tan in!” Meow Meow said with annoyance.
Tianming glared at it before tossing it to Lin Xiaoxiao. “Careful I don’t burn up your balls! Warm her up.”
“Nooo! This cat never sells his body!”
“You can sleep until she wakes up.”
“Yessir!”
Tianming felt like he had somehow lost when it readily agreed.
“Whatever.”
“Tianming, aren’t you afraid I have something to hold over you after you’re so fickle in love?” Meow Meow sniggered.
“Why should I be afraid when my conscience is clear?”
“Naive. Chicken Bro already drew that scene of you princess carrying her.”
Tianming was speechless.
“Haha, you’re finished!”
“One more word out of you and I’ll pluck out all your hair.”
……
Lin Xiaoxiao lay there for half a day before leaving. Tianming was busy cultivating, so he didn’t register her exit. His current progress was quite smooth.
Xuanyuan Xixi didn’t bother him during this period of time, either.
Most of the Human Branch disciples were currently doing some last minute effort for the faction battles and were in seclusion.
It was in this manner that winter came.
Snow was crashing down on the day Tianming reached eighth-level sky saint.
Everything was blanketed in white, making it all look pure. This was when the Archaion Sect was at its most beautiful.
The Divine Capital was a city with rivers within, while this sect was a country of snow.
Supposedly, when snow fell in the sect, it would only end the next year. Chills would seep deep into the bones, and the snowflakes that fell could painfully nick flesh. Such a winter was something even saints might struggle against.
Today, Tianming’s courtyard was covered in white and Lan Huang was happily frolicking.
“Two more levels until I’m an empyrean saint,” Tianming predicted that day wasn’t too far off. “My strength now should give me a stable footing in the Human Branch. It’s time to increase the amount of time I can spend at the Deepstar Path.”
Tianming had a simple goal: he would join a faction and get a leadership position. He remembered Lin Xiaoxiao had also mentioned her desire to join a faction and join the battles. So he went to find her.
After knocking for a while, there was still no response, so Tianming invited himself in.
A girl was collapsed on the floor again.
“Pretending to be dead again?” Tianming was speechless.
Tianming checked her condition. She was even worse this time, and looked like she was on her deathbed. Fortunately, despite her suffering, her constitution gained from symbiotic cultivation with her lifebound beast would allow her to recover within two days.
Tianming could only summon Meow Meow out again to warm her up.
Two days later, she was mostly recovered.
“Are you at the second level now?” Tianming asked
“Yes.” Lin Xiaoxiao nodded. She finally had the powerful aura of an empyrean saint expert.
“You half dying each time is to break through?”
“Yes.”
“Cultivation rising should be a wonderful thing. This situation should only happen if you’re using an improper method. Risking it once or twice is fine, but it’s not practical in the long term.”
“I know.”
“Don’t be naive. You can’t catch up to me.” Tianming smiled.
Lin Xiaoxiao froze, biting her lips.
“Let’s go. Do you want to join the faction battles with me? There are seven or eight days left, right?”
“Yes. We won’t be able to participate if we don’t join soon.”
“Let’s go, boys,” Tianming hollered to his lifebound beasts.
“Why aren’t you bringing yours?” Tianming grinned.
“It’s cowardly.”
“That’s what happens when you play too much.”
They walked out into the snow, leaving a trail of footprints in their wake. The snowstorm was still raging, and every word they spoke was accompanied by misty breath.
“There’s over thirty factions in the Human Branch. Even the youngest has a history over ten thousand years old. Which do you want to join?” Lin Xiaoxiao asked.
“The Dragonmight Faction.”
“That faction is led by the Xuanyuan Clan, and their lord is even a core disciple of the clan. Joining them will make it easy for you to be bullied when you have conflict with Xuanyuan Xixi.”
“That’s no big deal. Mostly, I’m just looking at their high chance of winning. They’re the biggest faction and have extraordinary strength, right?” Tianming asked.
“Yes.”
“Then them it is.”
“Not afraid of trouble?”
“Of course not. My goal is to replace the faction lord and lead the faction into winning the faction battles. Do you believe me?”
“I do.”
“That’s surprising.” Tianming smiled. “I remember the Dragonmight Faction is divided into ten halls, which are further subdivided into chapters. Only these chapter chiefs can appoint people into positions of leadership, yes?”
Lin Xiaoxiao agreed.
“What’s the nearest chapter from us?”
“The Greenmaple Chapter.”
“We’ll go there then. I’m in the mood to become a deacon today. They can command over a hundred disciples, right?”
“Yes.”
Tianming had been a general before, in command of ten thousand men. However, the deacons of the Dragonmight Faction and their hundred disciples were even stronger.
Usually, the top five factions had over thirty thousand disciples. The Dragonmight Faction, with their reputation, had over a hundred thousand, a fifth of the entire branch’s population, making it an undisputed behemoth in the Human Branch.
Calling the lord of the Dragonmight Faction the lord of the Human Branch wasn’t too much of a stretch.
Most importantly, this was a place of young people without the meddling of seniors. Despite everyone being of the same age, there had still been an insistence to create a social pecking order. While it sounded childish, the weight of it going on for tens of thousands of years had made it no different from a true dynasty.